
•-J 1,..^ onncDAT 



Issued June 16, 19. 

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, 

Department Circular 49. 



433 



Contribution from the Bureau of Plant Industry 
(Seed Distribution). 

WM. A. TAYLOR, Chief. 



MAKING AND MAINTAINING A LAWN. 

The development of a satisfactory lawn depends to a large degree 
on the foundation upon which it has been started. A really good lawn 
rarely results from a poor beginning, and no reasonable amount of 
effort and expense will overcome mistakes in preliminary preparation. 

SOIL AND SOIL PREPARATION. 

A suitable soil is the first consideration in lawn making. Espe- 
cially is this true where the climate is unfavorable to the best growth 
of the turf -forming grasses. There are few soils that can not be 
improved by treatment, and in the case of most soils much treat- 
ment is necessary. Good drainage, good texture, and good prepa- 
ration are essential considerations. Good drainage should be 
secured before further preparation is made. In very few cases is 
tiling necessary for the ordinary lawn, but for an extensive low- 
lymg area or for areas where thorough surface drainage is impracti- 
cable tile properly laid will result in much improvement. 

A deep loamy soil is easily made suitable for lawn purposes, since 
it aheady possesses a good texture. If lacking in fertility it can be 
enriched by the addition of barnyard manure or, if this is not avail- 
able, an application of 20 pounds of bone meal for an area of a 
thousand square feet may be substituted. In either case the material 
should be well incorporated with the soil. Stiff clay soils require 
both sand and vegetable matter before they are really suitable for 
the production of a good turf. There is little danger of using too 
much of either of these materials. A quantity of sand equivalent to 
a surface layer of 1 inch in depth if worked into the clay produces a 
permanent improvement in its texture. Even a smaller quantity 
is helpful, while much more can be used advantageously. On the 
average-sized lawn it is entirely feasible to use sand for the purpose of 
improving stiff clay soils. It is also both practicable and desirable 
to use clay for improving light sandy soils. Decayed vegetable 



IteGLOgTaipU 



MAKING AND MAINTAINING A LAWN. 

,MT, or humus, as it is called, lightens the texture of clay soils, 
increases their water-holding capacity, and improves their drainage; 
it also improves sandy soils by making them more cohesive and 
more retentive of moisture. Thoroughly rotted and comminuted 
barnyard manure, good compost, or mushroom soil are all suitable 
forms of humus for the lawn. One-half a ton to a thousand square 
feet ordinarily is sufficient. This should be thoroughly mixed with 
the soil. Organic matter can be supplied to the soil intended for a 
lawn much more successfully and usually more cheaply in the form 
of manure or compost than by means of green crops turned under. 

Lime in some form improves most soils for bluegrass and white 
clover, and unless soils are aheady well supplied with lime it should 
be added at the rate of not less than 100 pounds per thousand square 
feet. The application should be made considerably in advance of 
seeding time. Applications of lime are of very doubtful value for. 
the bent-gTasses or the fescues unless the soils are very acid or con- 
taui large quantities of poorly rotted organic matter. 

Prelimmary preparation, by which is meant the thorough stirring 
of the surface foot of soil, should begin several weeks prior to seeding 
to allow sufficient time for the ground to become thoroughly settled 
and for the weed seeds to germinate. 

SEED AND SEEDING. 

There are several species of turf-forming grasses that can be used 
for lawn making in this country, but for the northern part of the 
United States Kentucky bluegrass is, generally speaking, the most 
desirable. For the best results it is commonly used in mixtures 
with other grasses. The mixture contained in the accompanying 
package has been thoroughly tested and is thought to be quite as 
satisfactory for general lawn making as any mixture that can be 
used. It is composed by weight approximately as follows: 

17 parts of Kentucky bluegrass. 
4 parts of recleaned redtop. 
3 parts of perennial rye-grass. 
1 part of white clover. 

A slight modification of these proportions makes no material 
difference in the appearance or success of the lawn. A mistake 
which is commonly made in starting a lawn is that ot using too little 
seed. A thick stand of grass is essential at the beginning, and in 
order to be certain of securing it seed of the above mixture should 
be sown at the rate of not less than 4 or 5 pounds to a thousand square 
feet. 

Except perhaps in the northern tier of States and in New England, 
early-autumn seeding is much more satisfactory than spring seeding. 
South of New York and all the ,Iie,wJ^ngla^- States spring seeding 

"IclVED l 

NOV It 1933 

..viilOt4 OF DOCUMENTS 1 






MAKING AND MAINTAINING A LAWN. 



should rarely if ever, be practiced. Young grass does not stool well 

in the spring and summer and is not sufficiently aggressive to combat 

S^crab-grass and other summer annual weeds. In most of the area 

south of the New England States and north of the Potomac and 

Ohio Rivers the best time for seeding lawns is during the first weeks 

of September. 

After the preliminary preparation, which involves the thorough 

working of the soil by some means, the surface of the area to be seeded 

should be thoroughly fined with a rake or similar implement and bone 

meal should be applied at the rate of about 20 pounds to a thousand 

square feet. The bone meal is of much benefit to the young grass, 

since it assists it in making sufficient growth to pass the first winter in 

good condition. The main point to be observed in seeding is to sow 

the seed evenly and to cover uniformly but hghtly. The covering 

can be done on a small area with an ordinary garden rake or on a 

large area with a weeder. Light rolhng after covering is frequently 

beneficial. 

REPAIR AND MANAGEMENT. 

To improve an old lawn is frequently more difficult than to make 
a new one. It is usuaUy impracticable to attempt the improvement 
of turf that is very poor. Reasonably good turf, however, can be 
bettered materially by reseeding and fertilizing. Reseeding an old 
lawn should be done at the same time of the year as new seeding. 
South of New York it should be done in the early autumn. If the 
lawn is patchy the small areas should be scratched with a steel rake 
or similar implement and dressed with a mixture of good loam, com- 
post, or humus and the grass seed then sown. The loam or humus 
forms a suitable medium for the germination of the seeds and the 
development of the young grass plants. If the turf is thin over 
large areas seeding can best be accomplished by a disk seeder, which 
cuts in to the turf and deposits the seed. If a disk seeder is not avail- 
able, some implement should be used that will loosen the soil but 
not tear the turf badly. After seeding, a dressing of loam or compost 
should be given and the area roUed lightly. 

In the northern tier of States reseeding should be done early in the 
spring. At that time the soil is more open than later in the season 
and offers a better seed bed. Light rolling after seeding in the spring 
is usually beneficial. 

Care should be taken when mowing or watering newly patched 
areas to avoid disturbing the yomig grass. 

GENERAL LAWN MANAGEMENT. 

The care of a lawn after seeding has much to do with its success. 
In most parts of the country constant attention is necessary in orde" 
that even a fair lawn may be maintained. 



4 MAKING AND MAINTAINING A LAWN. 

FERTILIZING. 

Most lawns need an occasional application of some good fertilizer, 
regardless of the kind of soil upon which they are estabhshed. 
Thoroughly rotted stable manure is an excellent fertilizer for grass, 
provided it is not coarse. Manure well composted with sod and leaf 
mold and sifted before using makes a very satisfactory dressing. So 
also does soil from mushroom cellars that has been well fined and 
sifted. Coarse manure or humus dressing should never be used, as 
the grass is almost invariably killed in small patches underneath the 
lumps. TTiiTTms dressings should be applied in the autumn or winter 
and again in the spring. The material should be in such condition 
that nothing wiU be left to rake off. Bone meal is one of the best 
commercial fertilizers for the la^m. It is safe to apply and gives 
fairly quick results. The best time to apply it is in the late winter 
or very early spring; 10 or 15 pounds to a thousand square feet is a 
sufficient quantity to use. Nitrate of soda is also an excellent com- 
mercial fertilizer, but on account of its extremely quick action it 
produces a scalding effect unless applied with much care. It is 
because of this fact that the fertilizer is recommended conservatively. 
However, if a quick stimulation of the grass is desirable it can best 
be accomplished by the use of nitrate of soda. Five pounds of the 
substance for a thousand square feet of surface is an ample quantity 
for one application, and if applied in a very dilute solution with a 
sprinkling pot and the grass thoroughly watered afterwards very 
Httle scalding may be expected. As a rule, the lawn should be fer- 
tilized in the winter or early spring. Occasionally, however, it seems 
necessary to give it an application of fertilizer during mid season or 
early fall. In hot weather fertilizer should be used very carefully. 
Pulverized limestone is a helpful top-dressing for bluegrass and white- 
clover lawns, as the lime corrects the acidity of the surface soil and 
promotes a vigorous growth, especially of bluegrass. 

SANDING. 

Heavy clay soils are improved by applications of sand an eighth 
of an inch or more in depth. These may be made advantageously 
in the fall, winter, or early spring. Sharp, clean sand free from silt 
is most suitable for this purpose. While the sand works into the 
surface of the soU very quickly and disappears from view, it never- 
theless produces a lasting and decidedly beneficial effect. 

MOWING AND ROLLING. 

Good turf requires frequent cHpping. Lawns ordinarily should be 
clipped twice a week during the rapid growing season. Very close 
clipping may be detrimental, but it is seldom that a lawn is injured 
by this means. While it usually makes little difference whether the 



MAKING AND MAINTAINING A LAWN. 5 

clippings are removed or allowed to remain on the lawn, it is con- 
sidered the best practice to remove them. The roller should be used 
discreetly, especially on clay soils. Reasonably heavy rolling in the 
spring to firm the turf and smooth the surface of the lawn is quite 
helpful. Rolling during the smnmer is neither necessary nor advis- 
able. 

WATERING. 

During dry periods lawns require watering. A thorough soaking 
twice or three times a week is preferable to a light sprinkhng fre- 
quently. On bright, hot days the lawn should be watered in the late 
afternoon or evening rather than during the morning or midday. 
Any type of sprinkler that distributes the water evenly and freely 
may be used. It is a good practice to begin sprinkUng lightly, allow- 
ing the water to soak into the surface of the soil slowly before a full 
apphcation is made. In this way the absorption is greatly increased 
and the quantity of water that can be applied without run-off is 
much larger than by the ordinary method. 

ERADICATION OF WEEDS. 

While weeds are troublesome in the lawn throughout the growing 
season, they are particularly so from the latter part of June until 
frost. During this period crab-grass, which is by far the worst lawn 
weed south of New York and New England, is especially aggressive. 
There is really no satisfactory method of checking the growth of 
crab-grass except to cut or puU the plants while they are stiU small. 
TMs is a tedious and an expensive practice, but where a good lawn 
is involved the results justify the expense. Much difficulty is usually 
experienced in cutting crab-grass with an ordinary lawn mower on 
account of its semiprostrate character. This difficulty can be over- 
come to a certain extent if the grass is raked prior to mowing. The 
rake raises the branches of the grass so that they can be cHpped rea- 
sonably close with an ordinary lawn mower. It is impossible, how- 
ever, to cut crab-grass sufficiently close entirely to prevent the forma- 
tion of seed. 

There are many other weeds that are troublesome in the lawn, not 
only in the spring but in the summer and autumn. Among the most 
important are dandeHon, plantain, cliickweed, veronica, and ox-eye 
daisy. Chemical sprays are somewhat more effective in eradicat- 
ing these weeds than they are in eradicating crab-grass. However, 
the best method of eradicating them is by means of a spud or similar 
implement. In the main, the use of chemical sprays on lawn 
weeds has not given very satisfactory results. The weed problem 
can best be solved by making the conditions as favorable as possible 
for the turf grasses and maintaining a strict watch at all times to 
remove troublesome weeds as they appear. In constructing a lawn 



6 MAKING AND MAINTAINING A LAWN. 

it is highly important that it be so protected that the overwash will 
not carry over it seed of noxious weeds. If this precaution is taken 
and no top-dressing containing weed seeds is used, the expense incident 
to keeping a lawn weed free diminishes as the lawn develops. 

SHADY LAWNS. 

To produce a good lawn in shade, especially in dense shade under 
trees and shrubs, is a very difficult matter. Tlie grasses contained 
in the accompanying mixture are not particularly shade-loving 
grasses, but they can be made to thrive reasonably well in shade if 
given proper treatment. 

By thorough watering and the liberal use of f ertihzers and Hme the 
evil effect of shade can in many cases be largely overcome. 

Probably the best shady lawn grass that is readily available com- 
mercially is red fescue. This appears on the market at the present 
time under the name of Chewing's fescue. It requires essentially the 
same culture as outhned for the accompanying mixture, except that 
it is apparently not benefited by hme. 

BULLETIN ON LAWNS. 

Farmers' Bulletin 494, entitled "Lawns and Lawn Soils," may be 
procured without cost on appfication to the Secretary of Agriculture, 
Washington, D. C. 

Washington, D. C, July 28, 1916. 



WASHINGTON : GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1919 



v 



022 265 855 i 



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